Reborn!: Witness the reincarnation of Ford's Wildest Mustang

Hau Tai-Tang, the 2005 Mustang's chief program engineer, was handed the reins at SVT last fall: "Most people speculated that we would follow a 200-horsepower V-6 car and a 300-horsepower V-8 GT with a 400-horsepower SVT version, but I can tell you the GT 500 is going to have at least 450." He delivers this message quietly and with utter confidence--which means more is possible, indeed likely.

Contrary to early reports, including ours, the born-again Shelby won't make use of a de-powered version of the exotic Ford GT powerplant. The GT's expensive 550-horsepower, 5.4-liter V-8 uses an aluminum block and has dry-sump oiling and a screw-type supercharger. Instead, the Shelby-spec engine is an evolution of the outgoing SVT Cobra's 390-horsepower, iron block, aluminum head, four valve, Roots-blown 4.6, with a critical difference: It's finally received the displacement increase--to 5.4 liters--everyone's been begging for.Tai-Tang isn't yet ready to talk torque, but expect it to rise substantially over the outgoing Cobra's 390-pound-feet rating, another happy byproduct of more cubes. The only transmission mentioned at this time is a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual.

SVT-engineered rides have always included handling/ride/braking upgrades balanced to their newfound power levels. "The GT 500 gets unique suspension tuning, springs, anti-roll bars, bushings, shock valving, and a 12-to-15mm ride-height reduction," says Tai-Tang. "Visceral feedback from all driver inputs will be greatly increased; differentiated from the GT, yet well harmonized." The show car wears elegantly finished brushed-aluminum 19-inch wheels that ape the Ford GT's design. The production version likely will have 18-inchers with the same look. A clay model we inspected sat on 255/45ZR18 tires, but rolling-stock choices are still being finalized. The 19s may be offered as an option, and at least one additional wheel design, a modern take on a 1960s Shelby alloy, also is under consideration.

"Sure, we could've done it," notes Tai-Tang, anticipating this question. "We looked at the marginal handling improvement attainable by going to an IRS, and we didn't feel the gain justified the cost. The incremental benefit of an IRS is refinement, but not much more in terms of all-out performance. We've got good geometry and good shock-motion ratios, and we're happy with the suspension we have. We won't hesitate to have you do a driving comparison against IRS-suspended competitors." Weight goes up a little--ballpark, a couple hundred pounds--but it's going to gain horsepower, so the weight-to-power ratio will improve a bunch.